Sunday, June 30, 2013

Today's post picks up where yesterday's left off--the flaps have been cut and detailed and it's time to start work on the seat...

Saddles with Sophie, Part Two

by Sophie Lightfoot

Here I have cut the tree out of an old beer can and covered it with a layer of craft foam and skiver leather.

Once the glue has dried, I attach the saddle skirting.

Bottom view of the finished seat section.

Next I cut and prepare my girth straps.

Hole punching! I use a 0.5mm mechanical pencil with a METAL end. I hold this onto the leather and tap the end with a small hammer until it goes through the strap.

I stitch the finished girth straps onto the sweat flaps.

My girth straps are both glued and sewn for maximum durability.

Once that's done, I glue the sweat flaps to the saddle flaps. When the glue has dried, I go back and stitch then together.

I used orange thread on this saddle so the stitches would be more visible. (Note from Jennifer--I often use blue thread in hopes that the saddle will help bring its new owner lots of blue ribbons.)

I now attach the stirrups and leathers, and then mount the seat section onto the flaps. BE EXTRA CAREFUL that it is straight and even. If it is offset, it will ruin the look and balance of the saddle when on the model. After mounting, I cover the underside with leather so it looks neat.

The saddle so far...minus panels

I make the panels using the same method as my knee rolls (skiver stretched over foam). I the glue them to the underside of the saddle, using clothes pegs to hold them in place whilst the glue is drying.

More pegs!!

The finished saddle!

Huge thanks to Sophie Lightfoot for sharing this wonderful tutorial! If you've enjoyed this series, please let her know by posting a note in the comment section. That's also a good place to direct any questions about saddle making in general or Sophie's process in particular.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

In the last five years, I've fielded countless requests for an English saddle making tutorial. My answer has always been a polite but firm no. "The topic's too big for a blog post," I'd say. "If I ever write all that down, it will be in the form of a book."

To my friends I'd say later, "There will never be a saddle making tutorial on the Braymere blog. Never, ever, ever!"

File that under famous last words.

Earlier this week, British tackmaker, Sophie Lightfoot of Half Moon Studios posted a wonderful series of photos on Facebook explaining how she makes English saddles. I asked permission to republish her words and pictures , and she generously agreed. Although not exactly identical, Sophie's method is very similar to mine. If you follow these steps, you should be able to build a live show quality saddle!

Without any further ado, here's Sophie:

Saddles with Sophie, Part One

by Sophie Lightfoot

First off, you need a saddle pattern. This is the English hunter/jumper pattern I use for most of my tack.

Trace your pattern carefully onto the leather. Make sure it is very accurate. Otherwise, when you cut out the pieces, they will be wonky.